Thursday, January 3, 2013

IAN McNABB/Head Like A Rock (Deluxe Expanded 2CD Edition): Available February 5, 2013!

Who is Ian McNabb, you ask? Well, first off, you should be ashamed of yourself for not already knowing.... but since you asked...

Ian McNabb is one of the UK's finest singer/songwriters. From his amazing releases in the '80s with The Icicle Works to his inspiring solo work in the '90s and beyond, McNabb has not released anything resembling a bad record. While Oasis, Blur and The La's may have garnered all the praise in the days of Britpop, Ian McNabb was making records that were better and far more consistent than those made by his commercially-accepted contemporaries.

One of those albums, Head Like A Rock, is receiving the deluxe treatment from Cherry Red, which is pretty awesome. There's a remastered version of the album plus a bonus CD that contains 9 bonus tracks.

After the
Icicle works split up Ian went solo and signed for Andrew Lauders This Way Up
Label after releasing the well-received Truth
and Beauty McNabb was allegedly inspired to a rockier sound by the engineer
who mastered that record, telling him "Aye, Ian, your rocking days are
behind you." Legend has it that McNabb went back to his home in Liverpool,
and recorded a demo of what would become the coruscating opener ofHead Like a Rock, "Fire
inside My Soul".

Label boss
Andrew Lauder then suggested that McNabb go to record in America, which McNabb
was sceptical about. He facetiously suggested to Lauder that his new material
sounded likeNeil YoungandCrazy Horse, and if Lauder could get Crazy Horse to play on
the record, he would go to America. A few phone calls later, McNabb found
himself in aLos
Angelesstudio with Crazy Horse
drummerRalph Molinaand bassistBilly Talbot. This cast-iron rhythm section appeared on four of
the ten tracks on Head like a Rock, including the No. 54 UK hit
"You Must Be Prepared to Dream". The album's other single, "Go
into the Light", did not feature Crazy Horse and peaked at UK No. 66.

Head like a
Rockwas subsequently
nominated for the 1994Mercury
Music Prize, and
althoughM Peoplewould end up taking the award home, the attendant
publicity surrounding the award-nominated album propelledHead like a Rockinto the UK album charts, where it
peaked at No. 29.